Jeep Grand Cherokee Spark Plugs & Glow Plugs
The Jeep Grand Cherokee is a brand of luxury SUVs produced from 1992 onward. It uses a spark or glow plug to help drive the combustion reaction in the Jeep Cherokee engine. Purchasing the right plugs can make an important difference in the performance of your Grand Cherokee.
What is the difference between the Jeep plug types?The spark plugs deliver electric current between the ignition system and the internal combustion chamber in almost all gasoline vehicles, including the Jeep Cherokee. The glow plugs perform roughly the same function in diesel vehicles, but unlike gasoline engines, a diesel automobile relies on the heat from the compression process to provide the spark in the combustion reaction. The diesel engine takes in air, and just as the piston is compressing the air, a small amount of diesel fuel is injected into the cylinder. The air and fuel mixture is ignited spontaneously from the hot air temperature of the compression. However, a diesel automobile like this Jeep can be difficult to start in cold weather because the cylinders absorb too much of the heat from the compression cycle. The glow plug is meant to solve this problem by providing additional heat to the combustion process when the automobile is running particularly cold. Most Jeep Grand Cherokee SUVs use spark plugs. However, a select few diesel models of the Grand Cherokee are available outside of North America.
What materials are plugs made from?The more frequent materials are copper, platinum, and iridium. Copper is the more widely used in Jeeps and other vehicles. It provides good conductivity for your Jeep Cherokee but also has the shortest lifespan. Iridium has a high melting point and tends to last longer. Its conductivity is only slightly lower than copper. Platinum is also highly durable and resistant to corrosion. It tends to be used in vehicles with electronic distributor-based ignition systems. Given the differences between each material, there is no single correct choice. You should choose the material that is appropriate for your automobile.
Can you replace factory spark plugs with another type?Yes, that is one way to modify the performance of your Jeep Cherokee. The most important factor to consider in a spark plug is the temperature of the nose. Spark plugs with a larger contact area will transfer more heat away from the tip. The spark plugs may need to run hotter or colder depending on other factors in the engine, such as the air and fuel mixture, the compression ratio, and the ignition timing. Adding more spark alone will not necessarily improve the performance of your automobile if it is also not burning more fuel as well. However, if you have no desire to modify your engine, then you should simply purchase the parts recommended by your automobile manufacturer. They will usually provide the same parts that originally came with your SUV. If the plugs in your Jeep Cherokee are damaged or worn out, or if they appear to misfire or have stripped threads, then replacing them can restore the full efficiency of the engine. Make sure that they match the specifications of the make, model, and year of your SUV first, however.